Luchtgevecht 1951 - 1953

David Ketel made this photograph, Luchtgevecht, which translates as 'Air Combat', sometime in the twentieth century. The blues are gorgeous, a light blue sky against the natural greens and browns of the landscape. The scene is a landscape photograph of an airstrip with several airplanes positioned on the tarmac. In the background, hills and mountains add depth, while the sky is filled with sparse clouds. What strikes me is the smoke rising behind the hills which gives a sense of the potential drama of this scene. The composition is simple, yet the details within each element create a complex interplay of light and shadow. It reminds me a little of Gerhard Richter’s blurry photographs. There’s something about that photographic flatness, that feels really contemporary, even now. Ultimately, art is about process and I wonder what was going through the artists mind when he captured this image.